Read consumer reviews at:
https://greatnonprofits.org/org/campaign-for-aging-research-1

Reviews are mostly negative from consumers looking to find someone to help with their elder loved one, Many feel scammed. The only positive reviews are from board members and alleged volunteers. Many negative reviews of the organization. I love the concept but seems the many consumers are NOT satisfied based on actual objective reviews.

The biggest RED FLAG for me is that there is NO phone number. Any organization that does not provide a phone number for customers and customers to contact them should be viewed with a high degree of skepticism. I was initially excited to try this for my 84yo mother but am passing based on what I have read and based on the fact there is no phone number, and one is required to pay $50 a month to access the volunteers, every month, whether you get connected to a volunteer or not

I signed up to get help for my 90 + year old in-laws. Not really impressed. Many of the volunteers I called either never returned my calls or stated they were no longer involved with this organization. I am not paying $50 a month for nothing! They also tell you that it is the client's responsibility to report wrong or disconnected numbers. Really? Then what am I paying for? If they had a better business model they would at least keep their database updated and regularly check in with both the client's and volunteers. I can't recommend this organization for my area in South King County Washington state.

I signed up for Elder Helpers a couple years ago. At that time I was sent a packet of some sort and ended up having to pay around $50 for the privilege of volunteering my time. I contacted them but was quickly rebuffed - I never got called to help anyone. The only result was that they took my 50 bucks.

Here is the email exchange between myself and Elder Helpers from that time period. It speaks for itself:

Me:"Hi, I signed up with Elder Helpers a couple weeks ago (donated the fifty dollars, got the booklets, paid for the background check) At this point is it just a waiting game or can I do anything proactive to get matched up with an elder? Thanks"

Their Response:"Yes, you can read your packet and our website. "

I gladly sent in $50 with the hope of getting some assistance with my grandmother. The last 10 days I've tried calling 8 separate people listed. No one answered so left messages for those who had vm. No one has called me back to even say they couldn't help. When I emailed my concerns, I received a email response that the email was no longer valid. And wouldn't you know the phone number that you have to search for is disconnected. I should have known when no one in health care, social services are even government services have any heard of Elder Helpers. If it's too good to be true, it is!

My opinion of Elder Helpers remains unchanged. People who take advantage of the elderly need to be brought to justice.

I offered to give my valuable time and then they asked me for money before I could join the site. Moronic.

This was my first time using Elder Helpers. I am very disappointed. 1 person was very rude to me on the phone, the other volunteer hung up on me when i told them who i was. I wont be using this service to help my mom. Not feeling comfortable leaving my mom with this service.

After filling out a questionnaire and jumping through hoops to volunteer, the applicant is faced with a mandatory demand to pay $50 in order to go ahead. WHAT? Supposedly, it's to cover expenses for running the website. Who are they kidding? Is this any way to treat people who want to help out? Not in my book. Who thought of this anyhow?

I paid the $30-some u have to pay to register ($10/monthly +22 or so for a background check) and have not been given any confirmation by background check has gone through (though the money has been processed) and I contacted customer support and according to their response email which I received twice, I should get a response in 2 business days. Meanwhile confused how this works

This is hands down the worst volunteer organization I've ever dealt with. They are incredibly disorganized, their website has lots of issues, they request a $50 donation from all volunteers up front, and they never actually get a hold of you to donate your time. I wish I'd heeded the advice online to stay away from this organization. It's been a colossal waste of my time and I continue to receive emails from them to update my profile but no one ever contacts you to actually volunteer. I strongly suggest you volunteer with another organization as I have done, as I am not even positive if this is even a real organization or they just claim to be and take donations.

Didnt find this site easy to use or the customer service at all helpful - i therefore cancelled my DD after 1 payment and never got anywhere with this Co

First - I signed up as a volunteer. There was no phone call or anything - I just showed up as a volunteer. I could be a mass murderer!
Second - We tried getting a ride for my 90 year old mom. Contacted at least 5 people on the list - most had signed up years ago and had heard nothing from company - didn't even know they were on site. Needless to say - no help at all was available.
Third - We cancelled the service after first month, but were still charged. Still waiting on a refund for the second month - and think we should get one for first month too.
I have NEVER spoken to anyone at Elderhelpers. Only ever got email from one person - Mary. Is this a one woman show? I'm wondering if this is a scam.

I've been a 'member' or volunteer with Elder Helpers for I think the past 2+ years, and only once has a man, a senior (who along with his wife was looking for a person to help with doing their housecleaning) but while he was rather kindly sounding on the phone and everything, he lived just too far south from me here in Edmonton, so I politely declined when I discovered that it would take me 3 buses and a good hour just to get to their house.

That was over a year ago, and since then nobody in Edmonton has contacted me about being a volunteer. I'm probably going to take my name off of Elder Helpers because it's just not used in my city.

I did not do my research and really regret it. I was so blinded by my excitement about having the opportunity to assist elders, that I ignored the red flags all over the place.:(
First off, they tell you that you need to like their facebook page before filling out the form "We let our volunteers know about opportunities through our facebook page so you need to like the facebook page to volunteer!"This would be no problem if they actually contacted you through their facebook. I honestly feel like this statement may be a flat-out lie, since they tell you that you need to print out their flyers and post them everywhere in order to get someone to contact you (if no one has).
After giving them your personal information and creating a volunteer account, they tell you that you need to donate $50 (minimum) in order to get a free volunteer handbook (this is also in their tips on how to be the best volunteer), you have to contribute! This felt totally sketchy. Any good organization would give their volunteers a handbook and/or training for free, especially with knowing and respecting the value of their time and that not every volunteer has extra money to throw around. I was naive enough to do it (thinking I was also helping support a good organization). When you go to donate it says that your donating is going to the "Campaign for Aging Research." Sounds like a great cause, right? It certainly made me feel better after I made the donation. After doing a tiny bit of digging, the Campaign for Aging Research is just a glorified name for Elderhelpers.org (also under the domain name HealthyYears.org)... Is there an actual campaign for research going on here? After making my donation I did not receive my volunteer training e-book as promised, so I contacted elderhelpers via e-mail to let them know. I was promptly contacted by Mary (apparently the only person who works for them?), who told me I needed to contact Crowdrise (the site they use to create their fundraiser--which is actually a good website with my experience), to get my handbook. Weird?
One thing I did appreciate was that they promote getting a background check, but it's not required, which sounds potentially dangerous. There didn't seem to be any other screening done through the site, so how can elders ensured that they are going to be safe?
To make this long story a tad bit shorter--after going back and actually doing my research (and reading other volunteer/users reviews and feedback), I decided that I just wanted to delete my account. Of course it turns out that you can't even delete your volunteer account either. All they allow you to do is make yourself unavailable so that people won't contact you. Awesome. I've never come across so many weird and sketchy issues from a supposedly reputable organization. Even if they are real and do want to help others, I suggest they change the way they run things.

I signed up because I thought it would be a great way to connect with seniors in need in my neighborhood. It all sounded great until I got to the page asking me to "donate" $50 to support the organization. I have volunteered at many places and have never been asked to chip in money when I'm already donating my time (which is worth a lot!). I canceled my membership and the response was that it was just a suggested donation to help pay for costs. There are many places that I can volunteer without being asked for additional money.

I signed up for 3 months and called all the volunteers within a 10 mile radius. Any farther away, and they would have to drive a treacherous mountain road. NO ONE RESPONDED, or if they answered my call, they said they were no longer volunteering. The person at elderhelpers said I had to look within 20 miles, and I "should" pay the volunteers. 75/mile. None of this was mentioned when I signed up. He refuses to give me a refund. I would steer clear of this company. Instead, research other volunteer organizations in your area who are truly volunteer with no strings attached.

My experience with elders help.com has not been what I expected. I want to become an volunteer, but no one has contacted me about volunteering.

Website is a total scam, they are ripping off the elderly. They only do a background check if the person donates money. If you pay for one month, they put your cc on re-occurring charges and when i told them to cancel the re-occurring charge, she said, please remind us close to the date when the charge will reoccur. None of the names/ numbers on the list are up dated, none return the phone calls. This is a scam on the elderly. Please report this organization to the attorney general, bbb, angies list, etc.

I went online to find an organization to volunteer my time and experience. However after applying this organization stated I much pay 50.00 dollars to volunteer my time. There is no way I am paying for my time. I rate your organization a zero

I am a college student and I thought that volunteering would be a great way to spend time when I'm not in class. I know that many seniors don't always have family and friends that visit them, so I volunteered on ElderHelpers.org. I emailed a customer care rep who told me all I needed to do was fill out an application form. I filled out the form online, uploaded a picture, gave the reason I wanted to volunteer along with other personal information. However after I submitted this information, I was told that the next step was to make an "expected contribution" of AT LEAST $50 in order to continue the application process. While donating to charities in itself is a benevolent act, it is in my opinion ridiculous to require a payment in order to volunteer. This site makes it clear that they don't care about charity or volunteer work, they care about money and that is all. I will be volunteering at a local nursing home instead. Shame on the people running this site.

I signed up a month or two ago. I hoped to find someone who could help my Mom. My Dad died recently and she feels lost and lonely. I work full time and have a disabled daughter so it is hard for me to give her everything she needs. I thought that a volunteer for a couple hours a week would be wonderful for her. I signed up for a year and made several phones calls to volunteers. I did not receive any calls back. I asked for assistance and Mary told me they don't help contact volunteers. I requested that the service be cancelled and asked for a refund. Mary emailed back saying she had cancelled the service, and no volunteer would receive credit if they called me, but I have not received any refund. It is just not right!

I have been trying for months now to get help for my elderly Aunt and Uncle. They live in another state and I can't help them and they have no one near them. I can not find a helper. I have called and called. Got disconnects, no answer or they no longer do this. I asked for help from the home office or a refund. I got neither.

Did the background check and filled out all of the info and sent money requested. Don't understand. Melody